REFERENCE NO. 55 OF 2025 BIGANIRO BUTWARA EMILE & ANOTHER v. THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF THE REPUBLIC OF BURUNDI

The Applicants allege that the Respondent’s actions and omissions between 2017 and 2025 specifically the large-scale military deployment of the Burundian National Defence Forces (FDNB) into the Democratic Republic of Congo are unlawful infringements on Articles 5(1), 5(2), 6(b), 6(d), 7(1), 7(2), 8(1)(c), 124, 127, and 129 of the Treaty for the Establishment of the East African Community, as well as the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the Great Lakes Pact.

The Applicants specifically contend that by enforcing a comprehensive military blockade and siege on Banyamulenge villages in South Kivu beginning on 16 October 2025, the Respondent has engaged in “humanitarian asphyxiation,” using famine as a weapon, and facilitating ethnic-targeted violence through coordinated attacks with allied militias. They further allege that these actions, which include aerial bombardments and the destruction of schools and health centers, constitute a breakdown of the rule of law and a violation of the Community’s fundamental principles of peace, security, and good neighborliness.